CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION _________________
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A RESOLUTION declaring the City Council's intent to consider strategies to increase the availability of affordable housing in The City of Seattle; and requesting the State Legislature to adopt new policies or modify existing policies in order to provide additional opportunities for cities and counties to increase the availability of affordable housing.
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WHEREAS, from 2011 to 2015 rental rates for existing units open more than a year in Seattle increased by 25 percent according to Dupree + Scott Apartment Advisors Annual Apartment Reports; and
WHEREAS, in Seattle, 27,750 households at 0-50 percent of Area Median Income (AMI) and an additional 1,750 households at 50-80 percent of AMI spend more than half their income on housing, according to the 2006-2010 Five Year American Community Survey Data; and high rental housing costs make it more difficult for lower-income households to remain in the city; and
WHEREAS, there is an estimated need for an additional 70,000 housing units over the next 20 years, with approximately 18,000 of those units needed for households at 0-50 percent of AMI and 9,500 units needed for households at 50-80 percent of AMI according to Seattle 2035: Updating Seattle's Comprehensive Plan Background Report, February 2014; and
WHEREAS, in recognition of the growing housing affordability challenge in the city, the Council has taken numerous actions over the last several years to develop strategies for addressing this problem; and
WHEREAS, in May 2013, the Council adopted Resolution 31444, calling for a thorough review and update of Seattle's incentive zoning and affordable housing programs and policies focused on creating affordable workforce housing; and
WHEREAS, in response to the completed review and update of the incentive zoning program, the Council adopted Resolution 31551 in October 2014 stating the City's intent to implement an affordable housing linkage fee program, e...
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